Fans react to Atle Lie McGrath losing Olympic gold: “Heartbreaking”

Norwegian ski racer Atle Lie McGrath made a costly mistake in the Men’s Slalom at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and when fans heard the reason behind his emotional reaction, they were “heartbroken” for him.

Lie McGrath was in position to claim gold in the event before he crashed during his second run.

The 25-year-old then threw his skis over the safety net before climbing over it and stalking toward the nearby woods, where he flopped down on his back and stared up at the sky.

Two hours later, Lie McGrath met with the media, where he spoke about the disappointment.

“I thought that I would get some peace and quiet, which I didn’t,” he said. “Because photographers and police found me out in the woods. But I just needed some time for myself.”

Lie McGrath had suffered personal tragedy earlier this month. His grandfather died on the opening day of the Olympic ceremonies, and Lie McGrath has been trying to balance the grief of losing a family member with his competitions.

“I gave it everything,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Chasing the biggest dream of them all. I tried to pick up the broken pieces of my heart this past week, just for it to break all over again.”

“Take care of the people you love, you never know how long you have them,” he added.

Commenters on social media were very sympathetic to the skier.

One Reddit user wrote, “Heartbreaking. The man lost his grandfather during the opening ceremony, hasn’t even had the time to properly grieve, but still managed to compete and was leading after the first run, only to straddle a gate right in front of the Swiss coach (and as this meant Meillard (a Swiss skier) won the gold, that coach celebrated in front of him (which he obviously has the right to do, but that probably makes it sting even more)).

“Brutal stuff. He’s also one of the most liked and kindest racers on the World Cup circuit. I hope he’ll manage to bounce back as he’s currently leading the slalom standings with two races left; he would deserve that globe so much.”

‘Great metaphor in life’

“Former Skier Felix Neureuther, who’s good friends with McGrath, was on commentary here in Germany,” another user added. “He legit was close to tears watching him walk away into the forest. By far the saddest pics of these Olympics.”

“The tripping is really a great metaphor in life,” a third user pointed out. “When something like that goes wrong, it feels like you can do nothing right.”

Multiple commenters, meanwhile, felt Lie McGrath was justified in taking a minute.

“The commentator understood that he just wanted to get away from it all and the cameras. Then they zoomed in watching him lie in despair,” one individual wrote.

“God forbid a man want to contemplate the universe for a few seconds,” another added.